Improvement in horse hay-forks



ciirritd Ceistea- LUMAN ROGERS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 98,887,7dated Janna/11i] 18, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE HAY-FORKS.

The Schedule referred t9 these Letters Patent and making part of 'che same.

T o all whom it may concern:

of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Im-4 provement in Hay-Forks or Elevators; and I do hereby declare the following tofbe a full, clear, and exact description thereof, 'reference being'had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of' my improvemenua portion of' the handle ofthe fork being cnt away, the better to illustrate it;

Figure 2 is a sec-tional view through x fr, fig. 1; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of' the sliding bolt by which the locking is effected.

VLike letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

My invention relates to the construction otthat class ot' harpoon hay-forks or elevators, in which the prongs or barbs are locked in a distended position, by means of' a pair of'jaws, which are so constructed as to-embrace, clamp on to, or bear against some fixed part ofthe main stock, stem, or sheath; and

The nature of' it consists in the construct-ion of' an improved device for locking and unlocking such jaws.

To -enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and mode of operation.

The main stock a and centre-rod b, prolonged to?v the4 usual length, carry a point or penetrator, and

barbs or prongs, all of the usual or any known ,ron-w struction.

Gonnccted with the upper end of the stem b, is a pairl ot' jaws tl il', at least one of which is movable. The other lnay be hinged to the stein l), or be an extension of it, as shown in the drawing. The. lower end ot' the fixed jaw al is grooved or boxed deep enough for the lower end of the movable jaw d' tb be hinged therein by a hinge-pin, e, and also so as to admit the required motion, though other suitable inode of' hinging may be substituted.

Below the point of hinging, a spring, c', of spiral or other suitable form, is inserted between the jaws el el.

Itecesses oir-eyes s sare made in the inner face of' the jaws d il', each large enough to clamp securely on to the main pin c of the stock a.

To the fixed jaw l is attached a handle, 71., of ringvlike or other suitable shape.

The upper end ofthe movable jaw d plays through a slot, h', in its base, which slot long enough to admit of the forward and backward movement of the jaw ll; j

O'n the upper end of the jaw (Z', and inside the handle h, is hinged a tripper, g, which hasastop, g', on its forward side, and a shoulder, g, on the rear, against which operates thc upper end ot' a flanged-bolt, in, which plays in a mortise, @'made in the upper end of the movable jaw d.

On either or both sides ot' the bolt on., and about midway between its ends, is a flange or flanges, n, each of which acts asa feather to lock the jaw d.

To this end, the slot h' is made, at the lockingpoint, of T-shape, as at i', the T-part being of' snficient size' to admit the flanges n.

Also, a socket, o, is made in the bottom of the mortise i, f'or the lower end m of' the bolt m to work in, and a spiral spring, o', keeps the holt m well np against the shoulder y".

AThe devices described are so arranged and put together, that when -the tripper gis forward, with its stop g resting on the base of the handle h, the flanges n will enter the T-part i of. the slot h', and at the same time the body of' the bolt my, still remaining between the walls ot' the mortise fi, the jaws d cannot recede from the locking-position shown, Vwhereby it is made to lock on to the rivet c, which tills 'the eyes s'.

In order to distend thebarbs or prongs, the trip-y per q is thrown back by the use of the cord p, whereby the flanges n of thc boltm are thrown out of' and below their position in thc T-slots i, when their hold on the handle h is released.

The continued pulling of the cord p, pulls the jaw:

d' backward, thcupper endet' the bolt m sliding in the groove h, and then the stein 11 and jaws d l are f'orced down through the stock a, till the rivet centers the eye s. The jaw d. then comes back to its former position, and locks the barbs in a distended posit-ion, the flanges In'entering the T-slot'i in the handle h, as before.

The load of hay being hoisted to the desiredposition, the jaw d is thrown back, as before, when the devices come again to the position shown in the drawing, and the load is discharged.

I do not limit myself', in my inventiom, to the precise form shown, ot' bolt mwith flanges or feathers a, but include any form of' device in which a movable bolt, key, flange, or leather, connected with the upper end ofthe movable jaw tl', shall, while being firmly secured Lin its own seat, interlock' into the handle h, or cioe versa, substantially inthe manner described.

VWhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The coinbinatiomwith a handle, h, and movable jaw, rl', ot' a pair of' jaws of a harpoon hay-fork, a movable bolt, key, flange, or feather, connected with one, and interlocking with the other, substantially as described.

2. A trippe-r, g, in combination with a feat-heredor flanged locking-bolt in, the lat-ter operating through a slot in the handle 71., and into a recess or mortise in the jaws d', substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I, the said LUMAN ROGERS, have hereunto set my hand.

LUMAN ROGERS.

Witnesses A J oHN GLENN,

Trios. B.'Knun. 

